Monday, April 30, 2007

State of the State

STATE OF THE STATE: SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION IN NORTH CAROLINAAPRIL 27, 2007 – ELLIOTT UNIVERSITY CENTER, UNCG, GREENSBOROSPONSOR: COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY SECTION OF THE NC LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONScholarly Communications: An Introduction – Rosann Bazirjian, UNCG· Scholarly journal publishers are charging more for electronic than print, even though cost of creation may be less· SC needs to be understood not only as a way to solve the serials crisis for libraries, but alsoas a way to aid dissemination of research· The promotion & tenure process – requirement of publishing in high impact journals –perpetuates the continuation of the crisis· “Author pays” OA models seen as vanity presses· Plagiarism fears cloud understanding of OA, despite the fact that copyright/IP violationshappen within the traditional publishing structure· Simple continuation of the existing publishing model is ill-advised as it gives publishers theright to prohibit use, even by authors themselves· Institutional repositories (IRs) are part of the solution to the SC crisis; also demonstrateuniversity’s value, quality to the world at largeIR=capture, collect, preserveThe ABC’s of Scholarly Communicaiton – Cat Saleeby McDowell, UNCG· Why a crisis?:o Loss of access to scholarly research literature due to rising prices and subsequentfewer subscriptionso Reliance on core publications entrenched in tenureo Impact factors emphasize the quality of the journal title, NOT the quality of thearticles (assume articles must be good if in certain journals)o US anti-trust laws lax on publishers, so lots of big fish eating little fish mergerso Libraries committing more money to fewer publishers· Open Access (OA)=immediate, free, online, unrestricted· Catalog OA journals and include titles in subject guides one way to promote· Although IRs are part of the answer, they should not be undertaken lightly· Average startup cost of IRs $182,000, mean is $45,000; includes salary of staff, servercost, learning time, training, etc.· 9 largest US IRs at institutions in the top 100 colleges/universities in the nation· Only 13% of IRs’ faculty scholarship (which accounts for only 37% of total) is peer-reviewed· Bring out the dollar signs when educating administrators· Target “movers & shakers” among faculty, as well as those serving as editors· “Sneak” into another meeting to sharing OA/IR information with faculty· Have workshop on publishing as a whole, with part devoted to OA, for junior faculty, postdocs, grad students· Common resistance to OA/IR:o Invested in traditional publishing model (tenure)o Peer-review concernso Journal impact factorso Disciplinary vs. institutional repositories (faculty more committed to subject thaninstitution)o Plagiarism· Research showed that if IRs went live without 100-200 items, it was hard to grow andprove needImplementing an Institutional Repository: Decisions and Experiences – Stephen Westman, UNCC· Building an IR is a large-scale, complex project· Define what you mean by “stewardship” of digital materials at the beginning· Determine type of structure desired: document management system vs. scholarlyrepository· Plan, plan, plan!· Make sure you have explicit buy-in and commitment for ongoing support· Do not underestimate importance of marketing and PR· Keep project faculty-focused; let them feel ownership· Tie to faculty benefits (what’s in it for them?):o Stable, long-term access and preservation with permanent URLo Increased circulation, hence increased citations (show how many times item hasbeen downloaded) o Ability to do full text searching· Have an elevator speech prepared· Communicate early and often (should be two-way)· Future migration costs need to be thought about, even thought this likely won’t be an issuein near futureCare about Your Copyrights – Peggy Hoon, NCSU· Technologies have forced copyright onto center stage· Does institution have policy that addresses copyright ownership? Most allow faculty to retain copyright· Intellectual property (IP) is an individual’s most valuable asset; for researchers, this iswhat they live and train for· Copyright holder is in the driver’s seat with respect to how work can be accessed and used· Copyright transfers must be in writing and signed· Copyright is actually a bundle of rights:o Reproductiono Modificationo Distributiono Public performanceo Public displayo Public performance of sound recording by digital transmission· If authors sign away all copyright, they will likely experience future limitations· Authors can:o Completely transfer copyrighto Transfer but retain some rights for self and/or institutiono Keep copyright and only license to other entity· Advice has shifted from “keep your copyright” to “keep the rights you need, as many asyou can, for as many people as you can”o Less threatening for publisherso Faculty not responsible for granting use permissions; publishers have copyright andtherefore field such requests· Don’t be afraid to negotiate – the publisher is obviously interested in the workPanel Discussion – Rebecca Kemp, UNCW (moderator); Allan Scherlen, ASU; Evelyn Council, FSU; Kate McGraw, UNC; Kevin Smith, Duke; Peter Fritzler, UNCW· Author addendum, even if pushed back, leave open possibility for negotiation· Addendum at least get authors to understand copyright issues; way to get faculty – andpublishers – thinking about copyright and future use· UNC established OA fund to supply authors with money to pay publishing fees; not highlyused but good marketing tool; excludes authors whose grant award provides publication feecoverage· “Squeeky wheel”, “under the table” publishing agreements brought out by publishers whenauthors push for rights retention· Grad students a better audience than faculty for OA, IR, copyright retention· UNCW librarians targeted NIH researchers to jointly learn how PubMed Central works· Easier inroads with individual, small groups, departmental groups of faculty· Highlight early adopters· Start at individual-level interest (appeal point)· IR provides snapshot of what the institution can offer to the world· Establish identity for IR – let this be a choice that is made, not one dictated by whathappens as it evolves